Brookhaven offers amnesty period before planned crackdown on illegal accessory apartments

An amnesty program is being offered to homeowners in Brookhaven to bring their accessory apartments into compliance ahead of a local crackdown, Newsday reported. Town officials have identified more than 2,578 accessory apartments inside of homes with expired permits that will be subject to enforcement measures, including fines. Records show there are 5,906 accessory apartments registered in Brookhaven, more than 3,000 of which have a current license or pending application. Officials have cited the December fire death of a Farmingville man in an illegal basement apartment as a reason for the crackdown. The amnesty program will run until April 30, when out of compliance homeowners will start facing fines. Homeowners will be mailed accessory apartment applications and can also file those applications online. [Newsday]